THE SYNOPSIS Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) was always meant to be behind the wheel of a fast car. Hell, he was conceived and even born in one--thanks to wayward father, Reese (Cole) and loving mother, Lucy (Lynch)--who raises their son when Reese skips town. Years later, Ricky becomes a popular NASCAR driver who has the adulation of millions. On his team are his best friend and wingman Cal Naughton, Jr. (McGinley), team manager Lucius Washington (Duncan) and pit man Herschell (Koechner). At home, he’s got his hot, gold-digging wife Carley (Bibb) and 2 obnoxious kids, Walker (Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Russell). Don’t ask. Things get shaken up a bit with the arrival of French racing champ Jean Girrard (Cohen)--a fey, flamboyant and ferocious driver. He beats the haughty Ricky Bobby in a race and this begins the downward spiral for our hero. Carley leaves him for Cal and Ricky Bobby loses his sponsorship with the scheming Larry Dennit, Jr. (Germann)--who’s backing Girrard now. Time to get back to the top! Reese shows up to train his son and Ricky’s team (minus Cal) shows up to back him in the races. Ricky also finds new love with his pretty, former assistant Susan (Adams). The heat is on! In the final race, Ricky, Jean and Cal get it on. But only one can win! THE CRITIQUE What is it about Will Ferrell that I like? There are movies where he is funny as hell (Old School); then, there are movies in which he can be quite endearing (Elf, anyone?). Either way, the guy is funny. When applicable. In my humble opinion, Will Ferrell works best in smaller roles (like his hilarious cameo in Wedding Crashers) or ensemble projects where he doesn’t have to carry the movie (like the aforementioned Old School). Then you have crap vanity projects like Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy--which just didn’t work. Luckily, the same cannot be said for his newest project, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY. Here, Ferrell shines as a dim-bulb racer and that’s where his magic lies. Adorable dim-bulbs (much like Jerry Lewis played 40 years ago) are popular--so Ferrell should be in business for a long time. What’s cool about TALLADEGA NIGHTS is that actor/screenwriter Ferrell has surrounded himself with a solid supporting cast and an entertainingly-funny movie erupted. The list is long: John C. McGinley, Gary Cole, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch...the list goes on in this cast. Good actors who are also funny when necessary. Behind the camera, Ferrell co-conspirator and director/co-screenwriter Adam McKay (Anchorman/TV’s Saturday Night Live) improves in his sophomore go-round in the director’s chair. Comedic movies take a seeply-rooted understanding of pace, camerawork and dialogue. Along with other filmmakers of his ilk (Peter Segal & Todd Phillips come to mind), McKay should improve with each passing genre movie. Better still is the glossy, widescreen-lensing of veteran English cinematographer Oliver Wood (Bourne Trilogy/Face/Off/Die Hard 2). I’m not a real fan of race car driving, but man did it all look sweet on the silver screen! Credit this very talented DP. Kudos, baby! Other tech credits (editing, production design, costumes, etc.) are solid. And on a budget of roughly $72,500,000, they had better be. I’m sure that half the budget was paid for by product endorsements--which must’ve averaged like 10 products per minute! Having NASCAR on board is another big plus. I mean, what kind of race car movie would it be without their support...right? But I do regress, because the movie wasn’t perfect. Dopey dialogue and shameless mugging abound in this flick. Still, harmless fun for everyone. Look for cameos by NASCAR legends Dale Ernhardt, Jr. & Darrell Waltrip and performers Elvis Costello & Mos Def. I guess Mario Andretti wasn’t in the mood to appear! THE BOTTOM LINE Silly, but I laughed a few times. Will Ferrell and company rebound from vanity projects like Anchorman and come up with a winner--by a flag! CAST: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, Amy Adams, David Koechner, Andy Richter, Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, Pat Hingle, Houston Tumlin, Grayson Russell CREDITS: Director: Adam McKay; Screenwriters: Will Ferrell & Adam McKay; Producers: Jimmy Miller & Judd Apatow; Director of Photography: Oliver Wood; Production Designer: Clayton R. Hartley; Editor: Brent White; Costume Designer: Susan Matheson; Music: Alex Wurman AC/AL/V 2006 105m ENGLISH